Optimize Building Space and Material Use

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The composition of materials used in a building is a major factor in its lifecycle environmental impact. Whether new or renovated, federal facilities must lead the way in the use of greener materials and processes that do not pollute or unnecessarily contribute to the waste stream, do not adversely affect health, and do not deplete limited natural resources. As the growing global economy expands the demand for raw materials, it is no longer sensible to throw away much of what we consider construction and demolition waste. Using a "cradle-to-cradle" approach, while incorporating appropriate environmental controls, where necessary, the "waste" from one generation can become the "raw material" of the next. When done in an environmentally acceptable manner, the recycling and reuse of construction and demolition (C&D) materials yields numerous benefits, such as conserving raw materials, offsetting impacts associated with the input of virgin material into construction and renovation of buildings and infrastructure, reduction of landfilling impacts, and conservation of landfill space.

When new materials are used, maximize their recycled content, especially from a post-consumer perspective;

Specify materials harvested on a sustained yield basis such as lumber from third-party certified forests;

Limit the generation of C&D materials, encourage the separation of waste streams, and ensure that reuse and recycling is done in an environmentally acceptable manner during construction, renovation, and demolition processes;

Eliminate the use of materials that pollute or are toxic during their manufacture, use, or reuse;

Give preference to locally produced products and other products with low embodied energy content; and

Encourage success of operational-waste recycling through planning in the design-development phase.

Recommendations

Salvage and Utilize Existing Facilities, Products, and Equipment

Use reconditioned products and equipment, such as furniture, where economically feasible and resource efficient.

Evaluate whether existing building components, such as windows or metal door frames, could be incorporated into new construction or renovations. Ensure that salvaged materials meet federal, state and local laws and regulations as well as currently applicable construction codes, in addition to the new facility's security and accessibility requirements.

If developing a new facility, attempt to clean up and redevelop brownfield, greyfield or other contaminated, previously used, or impacted sites.

When using existing facilities, products and equipment, work to find ways to reduce potential sources of toxicity (e.g., PCBs in lighting ballasts, paints, caulks and sealants, lead and cadmium in paints, and asbestos) and to improve energy and water efficiency.

Produce flexible facilities with spaces that are adaptable for different uses and utilize building components that can be disassembled and reused or recycled

Design major systems with differing functions and lifespans to promote disentanglement.

Reduce overall material use through optimizing building size and module*

Reduce overall building size by optimizing functional relationships between program spaces and circulation, adhering to target utilization rates (number of square feet per person or unit), and designing individual spaces to accommodate multiple functions.

*Note: in architecture, "module" is an arbitrary unit adopted to regulate the dimensions, proportions, or construction of the parts of a building. Modules can also serve as the basis for coordinating the dimensions of the various materials and pieces of equipment to be assembled in the course of constructing a building. (Encyclopedia Britannica)

Evaluate Environmental Preferability Using a Life-Cycle Perspective

Purchase environmentally preferable products as described in EPA's Environmentally Preferable Purchasing (EPP) Program, which promote Federal Government procurement of products and services that have reduced impacts on human health and the environment over their life cycle.

The life-cycle of a product includes sourcing of raw materials, manufacturing, packaging, transportation, distribution, retailing, installation, use of the product, and management of the product when it is no longer needed (through reuse, repair, upgrading, recycling, or safe disposal). To capture the benefits of reuse, repair, upgrading and/or recycling, analyze the impact offsets that can be accomplished when the product is used in place of a virgin material in another building or infrastructure.

Where there are certain life-cycle stages or attributes that dominate the opportunity for environmental improvement, those key impact areas (or "hot spots") should be given greater emphasis in a material specification.

Employing LCA Tools like ATHENA and BEES can simplify the process and give more credible results.

Limit Generation of C&D Materials; and Encourage Separation of Waste Streams and Reuse / Recycling in an Environmentally Acceptable Manner during Construction, Renovation and Demolition Processes

During the design phase, require the development and implementation of a Construction Waste Management Plan to maximize the reuse and recycling of C&D materials generated from the project. Consider the following:

In order to maximize the effectiveness of diversion efforts, (e.g., by ensuring a common understanding of requirements for sorting C&D materials), identify local recycling and salvage operations that can manage site-related C&D materials; and confirm that the facilities are in compliance with state and local regulations, state licensing or registration, and/or third-party independent certification.

Set targets for waste diversion, from landfills and incinerators, such as salvaging or recycling on-site or off-site, at least 50%, by weight, of the nonhazardous C&D materials generated, excluding land-clearing debris and uses in alternative daily cover.

In order to maximize the recycling or salvaging of materials, products and components, consider the use of disassembly techniques for a structure, or its portion, planned for demolition; and consider linking the deconstruction project with another current construction or renovation project in order to facilitate reuse of salvaged materials.

Require submission of a Materials Management Summary report to document diversion results at the conclusion of the project.

Use products and assemblies that minimize disposable packaging and minimize storage requirements.

When procuring construction materials and products, select manufacturers and vendors with take-back programs whenever the cost of their products is reasonable, their products are available within a reasonable period of time or distance, and their products meet performance specifications.

Specify Materials Harvested on a Sustainable Yield Basis

Use timber products obtained from sustainably managed forests that are certified through third-party organizations.

Evaluate the substitution of bio-based materials or products (such as agricultural-fiber sheathing) for inert or non-recycled alternatives.

Specify rapidly renewable materials that can regenerate within 10 years or less (such as bamboo, cork, wool, and straw).

Eliminate the Use of Materials that Pollute or are Toxic During Their Manufacture, Use, or Reuse

Eliminate the use of asbestos, lead, and PCBs in all products and assemblies. See WBDG High-Performance HVAC.

Eliminate the use of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and hydro-chlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) as refrigerants in any HVAC systems.

Evaluate the use of materials and assemblies whose manufacture does not pollute the environment or create toxic conditions for workers. See the following sections of WBDG Secure/Safe—Occupant Safety and Health: Provide Good Indoor Air Quality and Adequate Ventilation and Eliminate Exposure to Hazardous Materials.

Select paints, coatings, plastics, rubbers, and seals that are free from flame retardants / softeners containing short-chained chlorinated paraffins (SCCPs) – i.e., not more than 0.1 percent by weight – 10 carbon atoms to 13 carbon atoms – minimum 48 percent chlorine by weight (unless it can be demonstrated that the SCCPs are present above this threshold due to the recycled content).

Avoid product coatings that contain fluorotelomers which are based on C8 or higher fluorocarbon chemistries.

Select textiles, paints, printing inks, and paper that are free of benzidine and benzidine-congener-based dyes.

Use detergents that do not contain Nonylphenol Ethoxylates (NPE) or Alkylphenol Ethoxylates (APE) surfactants, and that are certified by EPA's Safer Choice Program.

Whenever possible give preference to purchasing products that openly disclose both the substances which are used in the manufacturing process for the product, and also disclose the full list of substances which are contained in the final product.

Avoid Ground-level Ozone in buildings, which can contribute to health problems for occupants (e.g., respiratory system irritation, increased susceptibility to lung infection, and aggravated asthma) or for local vegetation, and also damage surrounding ecosystems, by minimizing or eliminating the use of equipment powered by any type of fuel that produces air pollution.

Establish an operational waste management plan in cooperation with building owners in order to encourage recycling.

During the design and construction phase, designate adequate area(s) for collection of ongoing recyclables. Local salvage, recycling and collection services should be identified during the design phase in order to maximize effective use of the area(s) designated.

Investigate providing locations at the project site for organic waste composting.

Related Issues

Durability of Materials

It is important that 'green' products perform just as well as 'standard' products over the course of their expected life cycle, therefore it is valuable to develop a durability plan, which informs material and systems decisions assessing potential risk factors and damage functions. Once risks are identified, measures can be taken during building design to address those factors. That process continues in every phase from pre-design to building occupancy. Durability plans consider effects related to moisture, heat, sunlight, insects, material failure, ozone, acid rain, building function and style, and natural disasters. Consider using materials that age gracefully. Often traditional materials used in building construction are easily refinished, repaired, or are partially replaceable, to ensure that a building's potential lifespan is measured in multiple human generations.

Balancing Sustainability and Security/Safety

To ensure that security strategies are appropriately implemented for the desired level of protection, designers are encouraged to conduct threat/vulnerability assessments and risk analysis. To prevent unnecessary use of resources in a project, include only the security measures that are identified by assessment and analysis. Evaluate the cost of comparable security measures before making a final decision. For high-risk and critical facilities, a somewhat increased use of materials and products is inevitable. In such cases, designers and builders are encouraged to specify environmentally preferable products to the maximum extent feasible. For example, as part of the Pentagon renovation work after the 9/11 terrorist attack, concrete rubble from damaged parts of the building were crushed into gravel and reused as aggregate under concrete slabs. More

Preferring Bio-based Products

Section 9002 of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (Public Law 107-171, May 13, 2002) confers Federal purchasing preference to bio-based products on the basis of five criteria: environmental performance, cost performance, bio-based content, technical performance, and availability. In support of this legislation a Federal rule was developed, specifying that the USDA establish a "USDA Certified Bio-based Product" label.

Emerging Issues

Many new products have appeared on the market in recent years claiming to be 'green' yet sometimes offering little proof to back up such claims. The term 'Greenwashing' describes the marketing of products with unsubstantiated and/or misleading claims about 'green' characteristics. It is challenging for specifiers and purchasers to determine the validity and relevance of environmental claims. Consider EPA's Recommendations of environmental performance standards and ecolabels, and read the UL Greenwashing Report and "The Sins of Greenwashing."

Construction Waste Management Database—Contains information on companies that haul, collect and process recyclable debris from construction projects. Created in 2002 by GSA's Environmental Strategies and Safety Division to promote responsible waste disposal, the Database is a free online service for those seeking companies that recycle construction debris in their area.

Others

FedCenter.gov—FedCenter, the Federal Facilities Environmental Stewardship and Compliance Assistance Center, is a collaborative effort between the Office of the Federal Environmental Executive (OFEE), the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Construction Engineering Research Laboratory, and the U.S. EPA Federal Facilities Enforcement Office. FedCenter replaces the previous FedSite as a one-stop source of environmental stewardship and compliance assistance information focused solely on the needs of federal government facilities.

Tribal Green Building Toolkit—Provides information on how tribes and other communities can prioritize and implement green building codes, policies and practices. This toolkit summarizes priorities identified by the Tribal Green Building Codes Workgroup, a group of tribal and federal leaders working to advance tribal green building.

U.S. Life-Cycle Inventory (LCI) Database—Created by NREL and partners, this publicly available database allows users to objectively review and compare analysis results that are based on similar data collection and analysis methods.

About WBDG

WBDG is a gateway to up-to-date information on integrated 'whole building' design techniques and technologies. The goal of 'Whole Building' Design is to create a successful high-performance building by applying an integrated design and team approach to the project during the planning and programming phases.